The best laid plans

Sometimes, it simply doesn't pay for me to attempt efficiency. Saturday, the quilt shop I frequent had one of its quarterly "bonus bag" days. A long time ago (before "green" was cool) I bought a canvas bag embroidered with the name of the shop. Any time your purchases fit into the bag, you would receive 10% off. On bonus bag days, the discount is 19%.

Unfortunately, sewing machines don't fit in the bag.

I spent the morning and early afternoon at Pam's for a craft day*. Smart cookie that I am, I moved the canvas bag from the trunk of the car (where it lives) to the front seat, so I'd remember to go to the quilt shop, as Pam's house is a third of the way there.

What I forgot - until I pulled in to the parking lot of the quilt shop - is that I had taken the store credit card out of my purse the weekend before, as I prepared to go out of town. The credit card that gives me three months interest free on purchases, making it much easier to budget the once-a-year quilt shop splurge.

Dang.

Yes, I did drive home, pick up the card and drive right back, getting back to the store half an hour before their 4 p.m. closing, just in time to buy the yardage I needed for a quilt back. I saved roughly $17 on my total purchase; my gas cost - for two trips - was about $8.70.

At least I came out ahead.

*This was a story in itself, as due to miscommunication and changed minds, Pam ended up with two of her grandkids, but without their cousins, who would have kept them occupied. They are darling kids, but things didn't quite go as planned there, either...

Is it really Friday?

This is the worst week of the year at work - lots to do, but people late in getting things in. Lots of political maneuvering, making life more difficult than it needs to be. By the end of the day Wednesday, I had almost as many hours in as I usually put in during a regular week...

Slept in a bit today - need to have blood drawn, and since I need to be fasting, I much prefer to go first thing in the morning (so do you - cranky with low blood sugar). The bloodsuckers don't open until eight. Meantime, I'm downing glass after glass of water, as nothing is more miserable than having someone try to find a vein when you are slightly dehydrated.

Tomorrow is an abbreviated craft day; Pam needs to leave by three to get to another event. She's making brunch for us, but given that her twin sister is joining us, we may not eat brunch until lunch. Pat tends to be late, as in hours late. No big deal for this - just sitting around, poking away at some handwork and yapping a lot. If we keep this up, I may actually finish the miniature Baltimore album type wall quilt I'm working on. I knew I should have gone with machine applique rather than hand applique...

Laundry, cleaning, studying, reading in service Sunday and baking some bread round out the weekend activities. At least, that's the plan now.

The circus is coming to town

The Circus Parade, that is. The Circus Parade - featuring antique circus wagons on loan from the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin - was an annual event when I was growing up.

The wagons, most more than a century old, are ornate, gilded tributes to the days when a visit from a traveling circus was the highlight of the summer's entertainment. The craftsmanship of the wood carvings decorating many of the wagons is exquisite - restored using the same techniques originally used to create them.

I have zero memories of actually going to the Circus Parade as a kid, though some friends and I did watch one from the second floor of a parking garage when I was in college. The memories I do have are of the circus train...

At a seemingly random time of a summer day, my mom would say, "Let's go see the circus train!". We'd walk the couple of blocks to the railroad tracks, meeting a group of neighbors also waiting for the train to pass. We could have waited ten minutes to an hour or more - it didn't matter, as we kids amused ourselves playing in the weeds along the track or generally making mischief as our moms talked.

Sooner or later one of the more observant kids would yell, "Here it comes!". The railroad tracks in our part of town wind a bit, forcing the train to travel fairly slowly through the neighborhood. Slowly enough, in fact, for us to appreciate the bright colors and gilt on the wagons.

In the age before on-line look ups, instant messaging and organization websites, I'm not sure how mom figured out when the train would pass our area. The times must have been in the paper, and the train must have run on time, is all I can figure. No matter - it was an exciting way to spend a morning.

In the early 2000's the museum changed the route of the train, and it no longer ran on our local tracks. This year, they opted to send the wagons via truck, rather than rail. It's a shame, really; nothing says "summertime" to me as much as waiting by the side of the tracks for the circus train.

Wedding

"I, Kim, take you, Mike..." Kim's voice rang out strong and sure as she recited her vows. No microphones were available for the bride and groom, but her voice could be heard in the farthest reaches of the sanctuary. No doubts, no fears, but absolute certainty that this was the man God ordained to be her husband.

The first memory I have of Kim, like many of the other young ladies I count as friends, is of her as a third grader, long blonde hair in pig tails, running with abandon around the Awana circle in our church gym. No matter what she was doing, Kim gave it her all. She would struggle through one of the memory verses - squeaking by with the two helps we allowed - and then say, "No wait - I can do it better

And she would.

What a joy to be able to celebrate her marriage to a wonderful man. The sparklers that were used to shower the couple as they left the church and as wedding favors didn't shine nearly as brightly as Kim's eyes.

*******

The drive up and back wasn't nearly as onerous as I was expecting, although it was just over 350 miles round trip. While I had the best night's sleep I've had in months at the motel last night, I still woke up at 5:15...and decided to go ahead and get on the road home. Tomah is in the middle of cranberry bog country, and is prone to early morning fog in the low lying areas. This is my view across the parking lot as I tossed the overnight bag in the car:




Though I hadn't planned it that way, I did get back to town in time to go to church, albeit a bit disheveled and travel worn. I had the car washed on the way home from church; I think it's time for a soak in the tub for me (and a chance to finish the book I started between arriving in Tomah and the wedding - how lovely to have had three hours to sit and read!).

Quiet Time Files 062309

And they said to him, "If you will be a servant of this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever."
1 Kings 12:7

The background: After King Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam inherited more than the crown. By dealing with his subjects with a heavy hand during the final years of his reign, Solomon had managed to make enemies within Israel as well as without, in addition to wandering from worship of the one true God. The people were restless, angry and ready to revolt.

**********

A delegation comes to Rehoboam to ask him what kind of king he will be - a delegation fronted by a man named Jeroboam, someone with an ulterior motive. See 1 Kings 11:26 - 40 for his full story, and the reasons he would be happy to see Rehoboam fail.

The delegation has a proposition for the new king: “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.”

The new king asks for three days to think about his response. He goes to his father's old advisers, and they give him the advice in the verse above. Treat the people well, and they will happily serve the young king.

Great reward can be found in treating people kindly. If Rehoboam had eased the tax burden, improved living conditions and worked to increase the standard of living for all his people, they would have loved him and willingly served him. Over the centuries the terminology used to describe this people management skill has changed, but the principle still holds. If you take care of your people. they will do anything for you.

The principle pops up in the New Testament as well, not only in words, but in the supreme example:

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Matthew 20:25 - 28

Rehoboam, unfortunately, didn't take the advice to heart. Rather, he polled his brash young peers, who urged him to increase the burdens, to lead with a heavy hand. The final result? Rebellion and a divided kingdom, as ten of the twelve tribes followed Jeroboam in revolt.

Qu'est-ce que c'est, cet aliment?

Ce sont des fraises, des tomates et des pommes de terre.

Pam and I made a stop at the West Allis Farmers' Market this afternoon. My plan only included tomatoes, but the potatoes and strawberries jumped into the basket when I wasn't looking. The weekday market is nowhere near as busy - or as full of vendors - as the Saturday one, but there was a good selection of early vegetables, from peas and kohlrabi to beets and broccoli, in addition to a few vendors with flats of drastically marked down flowers.

Last night I mixed up another batch of bread dough (from memory - and halved it to boot!). Although the heat wave passed, it left behind a taste for lighter, little-cooking-required dinners. The tomatoes will join garlic, basil, olive oil and fresh mozzarella cheese for a main-dish salad. With the bread, it's a quick dinner. This quiche is pretty quick, and can be made with seasonal veggies. Good leftovers for lunch, too.

Pam and I had breakfast/brunch at Chez Jacques this morning, one of the places for which I bought a Restaurant.com gift certificate a while ago, as a place I'd like to try. It is a charming place, tucked in the shadow of the Allen-Bradley clock tower. The three individual dining spaces and separate bar let each space have a more intimate feeling. The decor is faintly French; I'm not quite sure how the handmade quilts on the walls in each of the dining rooms fit into the theme, but they are darling.

And the food? Marvelous. The mushroom quiche had mixed fresh mushrooms, and a crust that stayed flakey. The mixed greens salad was wonderful with the dijon mustard vinaigrette. The full menu looks intriguing, and I know I'll be going back. Note to future suitors: Start off on the right foot - take me here for dinner.

One more trip out (grocery store - Farmers' Market doesn't carry cheese), then home for a bit again before Bible study tonight. Back to work tomorrow, alas, but only for a two day week. I'm enjoying it while I can, as after that, things at work explode.

Coffee counter evangelism

...but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you...
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)

"I'll have a grande skinny caramel latte and a slice of the cinnamon coffee cake for here, please."

The clerk took my debit card, and as she swiped it, asked, "What is it you're studying when you are here?"

Huh?

"I'm trying to read through the Bible this year, and by the weekend, because of other commitments, I'm a day or two behind. Usually, I'm trying to catch up, or doing some other reading."

"I thought it might be a Bible, but didn't want to ask. Some people are, you know, private about that sort of thing."

I laughed. "If I were, I wouldn't be reading it here."

*****

You never know when God is going to give you an opportunity to share your faith. In my case, it came early in the morning, before coffee.

A five minute conversation at the counter - during which God arranged that no other customers come up to order, in spite of this being a generally busy place - plus another few minutes later on was enough time to cover a great deal of ground. Time to plant a few seeds, time to discern specifically how to pray for Ashley.

Evangelism wasn't the first thing on my mind this morning; we are called, however, to be able to explain our faith no matter when we are asked. It needn't be complicated, seven-step and illustrated with cliffs and crosses and colored bracelets; rather, it is as simple as speaking God's truth and explaining how knowing Him has changed our lives. Then get out of the way and let God work.

Heavenly Father, You seem to be opening Ashley's spiritual eyes and ears, softening her heart to hear and understand Your word. I pray that You would continue that work, placing other Christians at both her workplaces and at school who are willing to share the hope that You have given them. Reveal to her her need of a Savior, and show her how Christ alone can fill that role.

In Jesus' name, Amen